ODE TO THE CANNER

If you are anything like me, you have probably been busy enjoying the last days of summer by trying to get in one more beach day, longing for walks in the park, and in reality spending most of your days in the kitchen putting away food for the winter months. That's right, I have been watching the pot boil, as ill-advised as that might seem according to that proverb-esc quip. August and September have become quite ritualistic in that sense - chop, mix, cook, stir, pour, seal, boil, pop!, and repeat. This year I have learned two very important lessons: first, be sure you know exactly what two bushels of peaches actually look like before you agree to purchase them and second, prepare two weeks of meals in advance because if not, the cooking dinner thing takes a serious hit.

This post is going to be short and sweet [and, my apologies, void of many pictures]. Really it is a sort of e-log of what I have put away this year just in case something disastrous happens to my food journal. It is also somewhat of an explanation for my absence from blogger-world.

[From Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff]

Classic Cucumber Relish p. 131, 6 pints
Plums for Pies and Cobblers p. 119, 6 pints
Chinese Plum Sauce p. 120, 12 half-pints
Dilly Beans! p. 135, 7 pints
Pickled Greens with Fresh Chiles p. 231, 7 pints
Good Ketchup p. 173, 4 pints

[From The Ball Blue Book by The Ball Company]

Bread And Butter Pickles p. 49, 6 pints
Roasted Red Pepper Spread p. 82, 16 half-pints
Stewed Tomatoes p. 24, 16 quarts
Fruit [Peach] Nectar p. 22, 8 pints
Canned Plums p. 21, 21 quarts
Canned Peaches p. 20, 21 quarts
Vegetable Stock p. 65, 26 quarts

[From The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard ]

Traditional Garlic Dill Pickles p. 132, 18 pints
Basic Chunky Tomato Salsa p. 182, 30 pints
Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce p. 231, 12 pints
Seasoned Tomato Pizza Sauce p. 228, 17 pints
Blender Ketchup p. 235, 4 pints
Peach Lavender Jam p. 43, 13 half-pints

[From The Art of Preserving by William Sonoma]

Tomato Brushetta, 9 pints
Tomato Basil Sauce, 6 pints

[Other]

Vanilla Spiced Peach Jam, 18 half-pints

Elderberry Syrup from Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar, 10 half-pints
Roasted Tomatilla Salsa Verde from Organic Gardening Magazine, 5 pints and 4 half-pints